Head of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association who criticized John Morgan's 'slave wage' comments is paid $620K a year

On Monday, we told you how the president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Carol Dover, decried the words of attorney John Morgan, who compared Florida's minimum wage to "slave wages."

While millionaire Morgan is no pauper, it's important to note that Dover, whose response diverted attention with empty words about slavery and human trafficking, herself is paid more than $620,000 a year for her job. That's more than 35 times what someone earning minimum wage earns with a 40-hour workweek.

As Orlando Sentinel's Scott Maxwell reports every year, Central Florida's hotels and restaurants are the central reason Orlando consistently has the lowest median income of all major metros in the U.S.

Restaurant employees, at the behest of organizations like Dover's and lobbyists for hotel and service industries, pay servers as little as $5.44 per hour, not the $8.46 minimum other employers pay, because restaurants are allowed to let servers' tips make up the remaining $3.02 an hour.

While tips are an unstable source of income that only serve to keep menu prices low for restaurant owners, working as a lobbyist to suppress restaurant employees' pay, however, is one of the best ways to get rich in Florida.

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